Automatic gate for railroads.



J. H. HANCOCK. AUTOMATIC GATE FOR RAILROADS. APPLICATION FILED MAR.30, 1911.

Patented July 2,191.2.

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J. H. HANCOCK. AUTOMATIC GATEPOR RAILROADS.

. APPLICATION TILED MAR. 30, 1911. I 1,031,547. Pat nted July 2,1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm, WASHINGTON, D.

STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOSEPH HEBER HANCOCK, OF TAYLOR, ARIZONA.

AUTOMATIC GATE FOR RAILROADS.

Patented July 2, 1912.

Application filed March 30, 1911. Serial No. 617,940.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrH H. HANCOCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Taylor, in the county of Navajo, State of Arizona, have invented certain new and,

usefulImprovements in Automatic Grates for Railroads; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to new and useful; improvements in automatic railway gatesv and more especially to that class of. gates adapted to swing across the track, and commonly known as cattle guards and the obf ject of my invention is to improve the construction and increase the efiiciency of devices of the above described character.

A further object of my invention is to provide a gate operable by the passage of a train through the medium of a crank arm;

extending in normal position over the tread I tion agaln.

of the rail and spaced therefrom and adapted to be moved by the passage of the train and 3 swung downwardly into a recess formed in l spectively each provlded through 1ts web the tread of the rail.

With these and other objects in View, my I invention will be more fully described, illus- 3 trated in the drawings and then specifically pointed out in the appended claim, which is attached to and forms a part of this applica- Z nisms, and as the mechanism upon one side is identical with that upon the other side,

tailside elevation of the actuating mechav nism, operated by the train, the supporting bearings being shown in dotted lines, and the shaft 37 in sect-ion on the line 3-8 of Fig. 1. Fig. at is a detail of the gate mechanism proper, the post casing being shown in section.

Referring more'specifically to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout, 1 designates in general the track near which is positioned the gate post- 2, which carries the gate 3 adapted to normally extend across the track and close the same. This gate post 2 has its lower end extending through and revolubly mounted in a suitable casing 4, preferably formed of metal and firmly anchored in the ground by any preferred means not shown. Extending upwardly from this casing is a brace post 5 provided at its upper end with a cap 6 in the extended portion of which is provided a journal 7 in which is seated the upper end of the gate post 2. Keyed upon the gate post 2 and adjacent the casing 1 is a bevel gear 8 and meshing therewith are the bevel gears 9 and 10 rotatably mounted upon the stub shafts 11 and 12 which are secured in and extend upwardly from the casing 42 one upon either side of the post.

lVithin the casing 4L and keyed upon the lower end of the gate post 2 is a collar 13 which carries upon its upper face near the periphery thereof eyebolts 14. Oppositely extending strong helical springs 15 and 1 6 are each secured by one end to these eyebolts and by the other to opposite sides of the casing, the function of said springs being to swing the gate back toclosed position after the train has passed, thus placing the actuating mechanism in operative posi- Upon either side of the gate and spaced therefrom are the rail members 17 and 18 rewith a transverse bore 19 and upon either side of said bores with the recesses 20 and 21 said recesses being spaced equally distant from the bores. Co-acting with these rail members are the gate operating mechathe description of one will serve for both.

Firmly anchored to the ground by any preferred means adjacent the rail member 17 is a supporting member or base 22, and secured thereto and extending upwardly therefrom are the spaced apart bearing members 23 and 24: provided with the bores 25 and 26 respectively, said bores being in alinement with the bore 19 of the rail. These bearing members are preferably formed of metal and should be so proportioned as to insure great strength. Journaled in the bores 19, 25 and 26 and rotatable therein is a shaft 27, which shaft is held against longitudinal motion by means of the collars 28 and 29 adapted to bear against the opposing faces of the bearing members 23 and 24. Secured to this shaft 27 and intermediate between the rail member 10 and the bearing 23 is a lever 30, provided at its upper end with an arm 31 extending outwardly across the rail. The normal position of this lever is perpendicular to the rail and it will be evident that a train in passing along the track will engage the arm 31 and force the same downwardly into one of the recesses 20 or 21, thus revolving the shaft 27. Keyed upon the shaft 27 and between the collars 28 and 29 is a sector gear 32 the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained.

Secured to and extending from the base member 22 and in alinement with the bearing members 23 and 24 is a third bearing member 33. The bearing member 23 is provided with a second bore 34L'positioned vertically below the bore 25 and the bearing member 24: is provided with a second and similarly located bore 35, while the bearing member 33 is provided with a bore 36 in alinement with said bores. Journaled in these bores and rotatable therein is a second shaft 37 and keyed upon said shaft between the bearing members 23 and 2 1 is a gear 38 which meshes with the sector gear 32 while a bevel gear 39 is keyed upon the shaft adjacent the bearing member 33. This shaft 37 is held against longitudinal movement by means of collars similar to the collars 28 and 29 of the shaft 27 and similarly located. A third shaft 12 rotatably mounted in suitable bearing members 43 and 4.4. extends from the base 22 to the casing 1 and is provided at either end with a bevel gear, the bevel gear 45 meshing with the bevel gear 39 of the shaft 37 while the bevel gear 16 meshes with the bevel gear 9 carried by the casing of the gate post. Additional bearing members may be supplied for supporting the shaft 42 intermediate its ends if necessary.

In operation the wheels of an approaching train strike against the arm 31 forcing it down into the recess 20 of the rail, thus revolving the shaft 27 and through it the shafts 37 and 42, which latter shaft by means of the bevel gear 46, the bevel gear 9 and the bevel gear 8 rotates the post 2 and swings the gate into open position. This motion is transmitted through the gate mechanism proper to the operating mechanism upon the other side of the gate forcing that arm down in the same manner. This turning of the gate post expands the spring 15 and it willtherefore be apparent that as soon as the train has passed beyond the second operating lever the spring will draw the gate back to its closed position, at the same time set-ting both of the gate actuating mechanisms in operative position again. If the train approaches in the opposite direction the action is identical except that the arms 31 are forced into the recesses 21 and that the spring 16 is expanded in place of the spring 15.

The above described device contains but few parts and those parts are simple in construction, making the device an economical one to install.

It will be understood that minor changes may be made in the details without in the slightest manner departing from the spiri of my invention.

What I claim is In an automatic railway gate, the combination with a gate and springs for normally holding said gate in closed position, of operating mechanisms therefor, said mecha nisms comprising rail members provided with recessed treads, base members provided with suitable bearing blocks, shafts journaled in said bearing blocks and rail members and provided with levers having outwardly extending arms positioned over said rail members and adapted to be seated in its recesses, additional shafts journaled in said bearing blocks, operating means connecting the first mentioned shafts with said additional shafts and means cooperating with said shafts for actuating the gate.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOSEPH HEBER HANCOCK.

Witnesses:

J osnrrr S. MoOLnvn, MARTHA M. HANCOCK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

